File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: TRU decision to axe visual arts programs fails the community

Jan 30, 2024 | 5:55 AM

LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE, education and the arts are about money.

That truth has been confirmed with the decision yesterday by the Thompson Rivers University board of governors to kill four visual arts programs.

It wasn’t a surprise, but it’s more than disappointing. Two visual arts bachelor programs, a diploma program and a certificate program will be gone.

The possibility has been known since last April, though after the initial shock TRU assured everyone the final decision wouldn’t be made until consultation with its community.

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I somehow doubt there was a groundswell of support on campus for axing the programs, but board Chair Marilyn McLean didn’t try to sugar coat it — it’s about money.

Dollars from visual arts will go elsewhere. She says the programs coming under the guillotine haven’t suffered declining enrolment; they’ve always had low enrolment. In other words, for all these years, TRU has been willing to support them anyway (so it must have seen their value) but not anymore.

The programs have nurtured a lot of talent. “Visual arts” encompass a wide variety of artistic expression ranging from painting and sculpture to photography and ceramics.

The termination of the visual arts programs will be a loss to students, the local arts community and the community as a whole. Kamloops is Canada’s Tournament Capital but it aspires to be Canada’s Tournament and Arts Capital.

The discussion of whether or not to build a new performing arts centre is part of that aspiration. TRU says it intends to keep its theatre major and music program but how can we claim a commitment to the arts when our beloved university doesn’t seem to share it?

Humans need more than knowing how to punch a time clock 9 to 5. They require time to smell the roses, to contemplate, to relax and enjoy, to nurture their creativity.

With this pragmatic decision — this decision about “public dollars” — TRU has failed us.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.